Backing fabric feed means for tufting machines



Oct. 28, 1958 M. M. BEAsLEY 2,

BACKING FABRIC FEED MEANS FOR TUFTING MACHINES Filed Sept'. 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I; IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII INVENTOR MAX M. BEASLEV ATTORNEY Oct. 28, 1958 M. M. BEASLEY 2,857,867

BACKING FABRIC FEED MEANS FOR TUFTING MACHINES I Filed Sept. 20, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I III //I l/ll/I/I [III I I 111 l// //I/ ll [/ll/I/lll/ INVENTOR MAX M BEASLEV ATTORNEY United States Patent BACKING FABRIC FEED MEANS FOR TUFTING MACHINES Max M. Beasley, Chattanooga, Tenn., assignor to Cobble Brothers Machinery Co., Chattanooga, Tenn.

Application September 20, 1954, Serial No. 456,995 9 Claims. (Cl. 112-411 This invention is a drive mechanism for the feed rolls by which backing fabric is fed through a multiple needle tufting machine.

In the past, considerable difiiculty has been occasioned in the operation of multiple needle tufting machines when engaged in producing yardage goods such as carpets, bedspreads, and the like, by the appearance of stop marks in the finished fabric as a result of the inertia of the roll of backing fabric from which the machine is supplied, when starting up the machine, and/ or by the acceleration and deceleration of machine parts during stopping and starting periods of the machine after a run has been initiated. These stop marks extend transversely of the finished fabric and are occasioned by a variation in the length of stitches formed by the machine due to variations in the rate of feed of the backing fabric resulting from the above-recited causes, and constitute blemishes in the product which result in appreciable loss to the manufacturer.

The present invention has for an object the provision of means for feeding the backing fabric to the needle mechanism so that there will be no deviation in the rate of feed of the fabric due to acceleration and deceleration of the machine during stopping and starting periods of the machine, and/or to the inertia of the supply roll from which backing fabric is being fed into the machine.

Another object of the invention is to provide a feed mechanism for the backing fabric for a machine of the character described, which includes spiked rollers fore and aft of the needle mechanism to insureagainst sliping of the fabric on the feed rolls. Preferably the rear feed roll is mounted above the plane in which the base fabric is fed so that the spikes of the roll penetrate the back face of the fabric rather than the front face thereof whereby to avoid marring the tufts which are formed on the front face of the fabric by the machine, and to maintain the pitch diameter of the roll.

Another object of the invention is to provide drive means for the feed rolls for the base fabric which includes means for relatively varying the speed of the fore and aft rolls to provide controlled tension in the fabric as it passes through the needle mechanism. The speed difference between the fore and aft rolls is also adjustable to provide a tension in the fabric that is compatible with the elasticity of the backing fabric.

Another object of the invention is to provide a transmission mechanism for the feed rolls which, in combination with the tension in the fabric being fed, will eliminate entirely or reduce to a negligible minimum the backlash in the transmission mechanism and thereby preclude stop marks in fabric due to irregular movement of the base fabric with respect to the needle mechanism, i. e.

2,857,867 Patented Oct. 28, 1958 self-locking in response to any tendency on the part of the feed rolls towards reverse or retrograde movement.

Another object of the invention isto provide speed change mechanism in connection with the drive means for the feed rolls in order to vary the amount of fabric fed through the needle mechanism per unit of time to thereby vary the length of the stitches performed by the needle mechanism lengthwise of the base fabric. This speed change mechanism may be included in any convenient form of continuous or intermittent transmission train.

mission housing,

r the like.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the housing taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a detail view partly in section of an expansible pulley device.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 shows a typical multiple needle yardage tufting machine designed for making carpets, bedspreads, and It includes a suitable framework 1 supported on a suitable base 2 (shown broken away) and includes a needle mechanism indicated generally by the reference character 3, the needle mechanism being driven by an overhead shaft 4 which may be driven by any conventional means (not shown). Thread or yarn 5 is fed to the needle mechanism from a source (not shown) by yarn feed rolls 6. The base fabric 7, which is provided with pile tufts or loops by the needle mechanism in a well-known manner, may be drawn from the supply roll (not shown) over stationary roll 8 by the front fabric feed roll 9, At the rear of the machine there are provided the fabric feed roll 10 and stripper roll 11. The feed roll 10 draws the base fabric 7 through the needle mechanism of the machine and the needles project the pile tufts or loops through the fabric in a well-known manner. The fore and aft feed rolls 9 and 10 are positively driven by drive mechanism housed within the transmission casing 12 secured to the machine frame 1 by any suitable means. The drive mechanism within the casing 12 is driven from the overhead shaft 4 by means clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The drive means for the transmission mechanism housed within the casing 12 comprises a V pulley 13 secured to p shaft 4 and drivinga V belt 14 which operatively drives one pulley of a multiple V pulley change speed device in-. dicated generally by the reference character 15. The change speed pulley device 15 is of conventional form and includes an intermediate axially movable sheave which in response to belt tension in the belts on opposite sides thereof will shift axially on the pulley spindle to increase over run and/or reverse movement, as a result of such gear train including high reduction gears which are the effective diameter of one belt pulley and simultaneously and correspondingly decrease the effective diameter of the other belt pulley in a well-known manner. The tension on the belt 14 may be varied by rocking the pulley device 15 about the mounting spindle 16 by manipulation of the threaded rod 17 which has one end rotatably connected to an arm 18 which in turn is operatively connected to the pulley device 15. The threaded portion of the rod 17 passes through a threaded sleeve or nut supported for rocking movement between arms 17 as shown in Fig. -2. Thus, as the-threaded rod 17 is rotated, the pulley device 15 may be rocked clockwise or counterclockwise about the pivot 16 to increase or decrease respectively-the diameter of the pulley to which the V "belt 14 is connected and simultaneously 'to correspondingly decrease-or increase the effective diameter of the pulley to which the V belt-19 is connected. The V belt 19 drives an expansible Vpulley 20 mounted on a shaft 21 and the pulley 20 drives through a V belt 22 an expansible V pulley 23 mountedon shaft 24. The V pulleys 2t) and 23, as shown inFig. 2, are of the expansible type and in response to adjustment of the nuts, 21 and 24 the space between the pulley sheaves-may be made greater or :less and thus vary the effective diameter of the respective pulleys. A belt-guide and-tension device 25 for the belt 22 is shown, carrying an idle pulley 26 and the latter is adjustable on the gear casing -12 by means of a slot 27 and bolt members 28 to maintain suitable tension on the belt 22 in all positions of adjustment of the pulleys 20 and 23.

The shafts 21 and 24 are mounted in suitable bearings in the walls of the gear casing'12, and project therefrom at one end to receive the V pulleys 20 and 23 respectively, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. Within the gear casing 12 the shaft 21 carries a helical gear 29 which is operatively engaged with a mating gear 30 mounted upon a shaft 31 journaled in suitable bearings 32 and carrying a worm 33. The worm 33 is operatively engaged with a worm gear 34 which is splined to a shaft 35 which extends across the front of the machine, generally parallel to the bank of needles 3 and is suitably journaled in bearings 35 carried by the machine frame 1. The shaft 35 carries the rear feed roll and one end thereof projects into the gear casing 12 through guide bearings 36 and 37 and is driven by the gear 34 as shown. Shaft 24 is similarly supported for rotation by bearings in the walls of the gear casing 12 and has splined thereto within the casing a helical gear 38 which meshes with a gear 39 splined to a shaft 40 journaled in suitable bearings 41 and carrying a worm 42. The worm 42 meshes with a worm wheel 43 splined to shaft 44 which extends across the front of the machine generally parallel to the bank of needles 3 and is mounted for rotation in suitable brackets 44 carried by frame 1. The shaft 44 carries the fore feed roll 9, and one end of this shaft projects into the housing 12 and is driven by gear 43 as by any suitable source of power such as an electric motor 7 (not shown), by V belt 50. As previously described, the transmission mechanism for driving the feed rolls 9 and 10, is driven from the main shaft 4 of the machine so that the feed rollersare driven in timed relation to the needle mechanism. The length of the stitches looped into the base fabric is ofcourse dependent upon the rate of feed of the base fabric, and this in turn may be controlled by adjusting the speed pulley device 15 as desired. Thus, if the effective diameter of the pulley to which V belt 14 is engaged is increased, the speed of the feed roll transmission mechanism is increased, and vice versa. Generally speaking, a speed change of about 2 /2 to one may be effected by the'pulley drive 15 as shown, and this will yield-a range of stitch lengths of approximately from 4 to 10 stitches per inch. If greater range of variation is desired-,a changeinthe size of sheaves in the pulley drive 15may "be readily'madeu Any change in speed of the feed roll transmissionmechanism due to adjustment .of

the pulley drive 15 has no effect upon the relative speed difference in the shafts 21 and 24 since the percentage of speed difference in the latter shafts is determined by the adjustment of the expansible V pulleys 20 and 23. Thus, for any given adjustment of the pulley speed change device 15, the expansible pulleys 2i) and 23 may be relatively adjusted to give any desired percentage of speed difference between these shafts to thereby drive feed rolls 9 and 19 at relative speeds such as to create a desired tension in the base fabric 7 as it passes through the needle mechanism.

It will be noted that each feed roll 9 and 10 is driven by a separate train of gearing; the roll 9 by the gear train 33394243, and the roll 10 by the gear train 29- 3i -3334. In each instance the last two gears in the respective train are high reduction worm gears which are self-locking in response toany tendency of the respective rolls 9 and 10 to move in reverse. This reduces .backlash to a minimum. The ratio of reduction between the gears 42-43 and '33-34 is not critical, but it shouldbe high and preferably of the order of 80:1 or greater. Furthermore, the tension on the fabric being fed through the machine by the rolls 9 and 10 due to the speed difference provided in these rolls by the expansible pulleys 2i] and 23, insures that the acting surfaces of gears 33- 34 and 42-43 respectively are always in contact, thus insuring regular and uniform feed of the fabric at all times.

From the foregoing it will be understood that means is provided to-place any desired degree of tension upon the base fabric being fedthrough the tufting machine by relatively adjusting the speed of shafts 21 and 24 to imsure that the aft feed roll If is driven slightly faster than front feed roll 9. This speed difference may vary depending upon the inherent elasticity of the base fabric 7, and the lighter and more elastic the base fabric is, the greater may be the speed difference in the rolls 9 and 10. Generally the percentage of speed difference between rolls 9 and It will vary between 2 and 5%, depending upon the texture of the base fabric. This tension developed in the fabric between rolls 9 and 10 in combination with the worm gearing for driving the respective feed rolls 9 and 19 from the shafts 21 and 24 eliminates all tendency of the machine to respond adversely to starting and stopping of the machine, ac-

celeration and deceleration of the machine parts, and

inertia of the roll of base fabric material from which the roll 9 draws the base fabric. This insures continuous production by Y the machine of yardage looped fabric which is devoid of objectionable stop marks which have characterized the product of similar machines not equipped with the present invention. The action of the tension in the base fabric operating through the feed rolls 9 and 10, as described, will be readily appreciatedwhen it is considered that the tension in the fabric tends to pull the front worm wheel 43 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3 until such movement is stopped by the teeth of the worm 42. Similarly, the tension in the fabric tends to move'the rear worm gear 34 in a clockwise direction until stopped by'the locking action of the teeth of the worm 33. Therefore, the base fabric, under tension between the foreand aft feed rolls 9 and 10, cannot move in a reverse direction and can only move forwardly in the direction of feed when the rolls 9 and 10 are positively driven, the aft feed roll functioning as a pulling roll and the front roll functioning as a let-off roll. This insures a uniform feed of the base fabric at all times,'and positively prevents overrun as well as reverse movement of the base fabric and/or the feed rolls 9 and 10.

It should be noted that while i have shown a contimious drive for the feed rolls and associated gearing-in theform of the belt and pulley means 13-14, 1519, and '20, 'anyflesired' form of intermittent drive'means,

such as a Ferguson roller gear drive, may be employed between the drive shaft 4 and the shaft 21 without sacrificing any of the effectiveness of my invention in preventing stop marks in the resulting fabric. It is well known in the art to drive the base fabric intermittently in timed relation to needle movement, and it is to be understood that where the terms drive means or drive mechanism are used herein and in the appended claims, said terms comprehend either a continuous drive means or an intermittent drive means.

It will be understood that while I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes may be made in size and. proportion of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention which is set forth more particularly in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In the method of feeding base fabric to a multiple needle tufting machine in the manufacture of tufted pile yardage, the steps of positively drawing base fabric continuously from a source of supply and positively advancing the same to the needle mechanism, positively withdrawing the base fabric continuously from the needle mechanism at a slightly faster rate than it is fed to said needle mechanism to thereby develop tension in the base fabric between points fore and aft of the needle mechanism and in the direction of feed as the fabric is fed to the needle mechanism, and simultaneously controlling the feed of the fabric to and the withdrawal of the fabric from the needle mechanism to preclude retrograde movement thereof during periods of acceleration and deceleration of the machine.

2. In a tufting machine including needle mechanism and feed rolls positioned fore and aft with respect thereto, to feed base fabric through the needle mechanism, drive mechanism for the feed rolls including a high reduction worm gear carried by the respective rolls, a drive gear operatively connected to each worm gear, said worm gears and associated drive gears being self-locking respectively in response to reverse movement of the associated feed rolls, and means for driving the respective drive gears at predetermined different speeds to impart to the aft feed roll a greater speed than that of the fore feed roll whereby to develop tension in the base fabric between the fore and aft feed rolls, said feed rolls being provided with anti-slipping fabric engaging surfaces.

3. In a tufting machine including needle mechanism and fore and aft roll members for feeding base fabric through the needle mechanism, drive means for said roll members including a separate train of gears for each roll member, each gear train including a separate input shaft and a gear member in direct driving engagement with the respective roll members that is self-locking in response to overrun and to reverse movement of the associated roll member, and means for driving said input shafts at predetermined different relative speeds which will define a slightly greater speed of rotation for the aft feed roll than for the fore feed roll, said feed roll members being provided with anti-slipping fabric-engaging surfaces.

4. In a tufting machine including needle mechanism and fabric feed roll members positioned fore and aft of the needle mechanism for feeding base fabric through the needle mechanism, drive means for said feed roll members including. a separate train of gears for each feed roll member, each gear train including as a terminal roll-driving element a gear member that is selflocking in response to overrun and to reverse movement of the associated feed roll member, and means for driving said gear trains at predetermined relative speeds which will provide a slightly greater speed of rotation for the aft feed roll member than for the fore feed roll member whereby to develop tension in the base fabric between the fore and aft feed roll members, said feed roll members being provided with anti-slipping fabric engaging surfaces.

5. The apparatus described in claim 4 where said drive means includes means for varying the speed of the respective feed roll members while maintaining a greater speed for the aft feed roll member than for the fore feed roll member.

6. The apparatus described in claim 4 wherein the terminal roll driving element of the respective gear trains is a high-reduction worm gear connected directly to the respective feed roll members.

7. The apparatus described in claim 4 wherein the antislipping fabric engaging surfaces of the feed roll members include fabric penetrating spike members carried by the respective feed roll members.

8. The apparatus described in claim 2 wherein antislipping surfaces of the feed rolls include fabric penetrating spike members to insure against slippage between the feed roll surfaces and the fabric.

9. The apparatus described in claim 2 wherein means are provided to vary the speed difference between the aft feed roll and the fore feed roll while maintaining the speed of the aft feed roll greater than the speed of the fore feed roll.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 445,351 Kerr Jan. 27, 1891 1,060,799 Van Horn May 6, 1913 1,715,119 Clarkson May 28, 1929 1,742,221 Roseman Jan. 7, 1930 2,035,848 Thompson Mar. 31, 1936 2,090,022 Bayton et al. Aug. 17, 1937 2,570,695 Levine Oct. 9, 1951 2,679,218 Jones May 25, 1954 2,682,238 Reeves June 29, 1954 

